


Photogenic

by purpleinkblot



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen, Modern AU, some cassandra/varric in there but not a romantic plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 09:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5043013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleinkblot/pseuds/purpleinkblot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra leaves her phone unlocked in the open, giving Varric a chance to mess with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Photogenic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lunarch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarch/gifts).



> This was sort of based off this http://lunarch-sounds.tumblr.com/post/130597018088/modern-au-cassaric-thingies
> 
> Sorry in advance if it's a little ooc, I tried to make it as close to character as possible. I'm not familiar with this series.

Cassandra Pentaghast wasn't one for letting her possessions out of her sight. And she certainly wasn't one to let someone else use them. But this was a simple mistake, and she by no means approved of it. Hell, she wasn't even in the room to stop it. She had been in her office discussing trade negotiations with Varric before Josephine was to arrive, when a certain blonde-haired troublemaker popped her head into the room.

 

"Hey, Pouty Pants, got a question for you." Varric peered up at the visitor while Cassandra looked up something on her phone, not taking her eyes off the screen.

 

"Yes, what is it Sera?"

 

"Whose car do you think is faster, yours or his?" she asked, leaning on the doorframe. Varric turned his head back towards Cassandra, her focus still on what she was reading.

  
“I don’t know. I am very busy.”

 

“Cause I was thinkin’ yours is pretty speedy, yeah? But Varric’s got more bulk to it in case I hit any bumps or somethin’ on the way down.”

 

“Wait a second now,” the man in question interrupted “yeah my old truck’s gotten through shit in the past, but it’ll fall apart if you crash it into a tree. And I’m sure it won’t be able to handle whatever you’ve cooked up.”

  
“Why don’t you buy a new one, then? If it’s falling apart why keep it? That’s stupid.”

 

“Eh, it’s always worked for me,” he shrugged “sometimes you can’t go wrong with what you’ve got.”

 

“Whatever. Ok so yours then, right Cass?”

 

The Seeker waved a dismissive hand, scribbling down something on the paper in front of her. “Yes, yes, just please go occupy yourself, won’t you?”

 

The blonde snickered and skipped down the hall, slamming the front door behind her.

 

A minute of silence passed. Then another. Varric still sat wide-eyed in his seat at the woman who remained unbothered. He propped his elbow up on the desk, a restrained smile on his face.

 

"Seeker, are you sick or something?"

 

"No. Why would you ask that?" The dwarf sat back and raised his hands to hover near the sides of his head.

 

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering why you'd let Sera borrow you car."

 

"I did no such thing."

 

"You just did. That's what she came in to ask about. Weren't you even listening?"

 

"I- what?"

 

"Sera just came in asking to use your car."

 

"For what?"

 

"I don't know, rolling it down a hill, from the sound of it."

 

Before he could blink Cassandra bolted out of her seat, dropping her phone onto the desk. She didn't even bother with a coat, nearly leaving a trail of smoke behind her as she sped out the door. Varric watched amused as she zipped passed the window towards the parking lot. He shook his head and waited, their meeting having been put on a standstill by her absence.  His glance moved down to the desk, catching the light that shone from her phone, which was still on and unlocked. It was an ample opportunity for anyone to dig through it and pull out personal information on the owner. But Varric was not that kind of man.

 

He _was_ however a man who wasn't against grinding the gears of certain people, especially when it came to ones like "Pouty Pants". Watching her cheeks darken to a frustrated pink and her lips curl was hilarious in its own way. He would regret passing this up.

 

So he quickly snatched the phone, tapping lightly on the screen right before it turned itself off. He held it for a moment, the protective casing still warm from Cassandra's hand. The camera was positioned center-framed in front of his chest where his V-neck failed to cover. Clicking sounds of the pictures being taken seemed to be amplified in the quiet room. For a moment he thought she might have heard it. When she didn't reappear, he skimmed through the photos choosing the best one then deleted the rest. Cassandra would no doubt reel back in confusion upon seeing that in her photo album. But maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe he could take it one step further.

 

Before long the Seeker returned, breathing slightly labored with a light dusting of red across her nose. She rubbed her arms in fast strokes, plopping herself back into her chair with a sigh.

 

"Enjoyed some fresh air, I see. But you know, it is rude to take a break and go for a walk in the middle of our discussion." Cassandra rolled her eyes and rubbed her hands together.

 

"I managed to reach her before she did anything. Said something about tying a rope to the back of it and using it to pull a sled. I assumed she'd be sitting on it but I didn't ask."

 

"And how did she think she would do that without the keys?"

 

"I don't know, and I don't want to." Her hands were still cold, her fingertips as flushed as her nose. Varric impulsively capped his hands around hers, feeling the chill ease off them.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"You look like you're freezing. And we can't have you getting sick or we'll both be held back." Her skin was softer than expected. Not porcelain or without scars and the like, but not dry or uncared for. The pink in her cheeks wasn't entirely to blame on the cold, and she only pulled away when he absentmindedly stroked his thumb over the top of her hand. She cleared her throat before straightening up in her chair.

 

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine." The Seeker's eyes darted to the papers in front of her, and then turned her attention back to her phone.

 

"Ah yes, our discussion." Varric had to use all his will not to crack a smile as she picked it up and pressed the power button.

 

"So how long do you think it will take to- ah! What the hell?" The man beside her started cracking up, slapping one hand against his knee. Her wallpaper had been changed to the brazen picture of his chest, awkwardly positioned as to obscure the time.   


“This is- I’m going to kill you.” Varric continued to laugh as she entered her code, then smacked the top of her desk. The background had also been redecorated, the neatly organized apps not doing enough to hide the image.

 

“You are so childish.” She growled, replacing the wallpapers with a solid blue image for the time.

 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Seeker,” his feigned tone was obvious, not that it made a difference. “You must have snapped that picture when I wasn’t looking. How impersonal.” He crossed his arms in front of his exposed skin, turning away like he was offended.

 

Cassandra’s nostrils flared as she sighed, putting the phone down –away from him- and dragging over the files resting on her desk.

 

“Where were we?”

 

\--

 

Two days had passed since then, and the great Seeker Pentaghast found herself trudging through the snow in town on one of her rare days off. Simple errands seemed almost like privileges these days, and far less exhausting. Her boots crunched through the clumps, hands tucked into her pockets. The tip of her nose was buried in her scarf as she blinked against the soft snowflakes. A muffled vibration broke her stride as she reluctantly took her hand from her warm pouch to peer at her phone.

 

The contact image was Varric’s chest.

 

A repressed scream slipped out of her lips as she mashed the answer button, yanking the scarf away from her mouth.

 

“You are an ass, do you know that? Setting it as the background is bad enough, but you just couldn’t help yourself. This is something I’d expect from Sera but-”

 

“What did I do now?” the female’s voice at the other end startled Cassandra into silence. When she didn’t answer, the other did again.

 

“I can hear you just fine. You don't need to blow my ears out.” Cassandra pulled the phone away, willing herself to look past the red hair and at the name at the top.

 

Sera.

 

Cassandra took a deep breath, closing her eyes and exhaling before returning the device to her ear.

 

“I didn’t do nothin’ to your phone if that’s what you’re saying. I haven’t even seen it. Bet it’s boring. Probably got all your fancy what’s-its in neat little boxes. And nothin’ fun to play with.”

 

“What did you call me for?” the Seeker asked, rubbing her temples.

 

“Just callin’ to apologize again about the thing with your ride. I wasn’t gonna actually do it ya know. Was just wondering.”

 

“It’s fine. Look, I have somewhere to be. We can discuss this later.”

 

“All right. Got somethin to do of my own, actually.”

 

“Does it involve hurtling snowballs at passersby from the roof?”

 

“…Maybe.”

 

\--

 

Cassandra’s detour turned into the park a few blocks down, a place Varric often frequented on quiet days. And no she definitely did _not_ purposefully take that route on the off chance that he’d be there. Luckily he just happened to be standing near the park bench when she came strolling by. But since he was, Cassandra marched through the snow towards him.

 

“What a surprise to see you here. I would have thought the birds chirping would bug you too much to come around.” He said with a smirk.

 

“You really are an ass. And there are no birds.”

 

“Found my other surprises, huh?”

 

“Before I look, how many more of these did you mess with?”

 

“I was hoping you’d not think on it and make a little game of Russian roulette out of it. But that would require you doing something that’s fun and having a sense of humor. I only put the picture on a few of your contacts, don’t worry.”

 

Cassandra looked to the bench, seeing that it was covered in snow and decided to keep standing. She let out a disgruntled sigh and kicked some snow off her boots. When she looked at him again, he had pulled out his own phone and pointed it towards her.

 

“Don’t you dare-” the flash went off in her face. She let out another half-hearted groan and tried to nab it from his hands.

 

“Quite the pretty picture you make, Seeker.” He said turning the screen towards her. The picture was of her in mid-sentence. It was slightly blurry and her expression was less than flattering.

 

“Delete that.”

 

“No way, now I have a funny picture of you. That makes us even.”

 

“That is hardly even!” Her hands lunged for the phone again, missing as he backed up away from her. Her attempts looked hilarious on his end, but his smile slipped from his face when he ended up falling back onto the bench. The snow soaked through his pants and sent an uncomfortable shiver through his body.

 

“Oh real nice. Now I’m going to literally freeze my ass off.”

 

“Serves you right.” She laughed, nearly _giggled_. If he hadn’t caught it he wouldn’t have believed it.

 

The air was calm as the wind settled in the trees instead of in their faces. No one was out and it was quiet for quite a ways away. Both just breathed for a moment, taking in the atmosphere.

 

“Hey, come here.” Varric motioned to the spot beside him. Cassandra brushed the snow from the spot and sat down.

 

“Sit closer for a second.” She blinked in confusion but complied, settling her face closer to his. He pulled up his phone again, switching on the front camera. When she didn’t pull away he took a few shots, even daring to sling his arm over her shoulders for one of them.

 

“You’re supposed to smile in pictures, Seeker.”

 

“Quiet, dwarf.”

 

“There, better?” he asked, showing it to her. Her gaze remained on the screen as he flicked through them. They were actually very nice. The snowflakes on their clothes and the redness on their faces made the whole thing endearing, like it was something they did all the time. One could even call them “cute”. Imagine that.

 

Cassandra expression softened and she shook her head, that rare smile gracing her face.

 

“Send them to me.”


End file.
